Solderless tap connector

ABSTRACT

A solderless connector for insulated wires, comprising a transversely grooved body with parallel longitudinal wirereceiving channels, and a slotted metal plate contact element insertable in a transverse groove for making electrical contact between wires supported in said channels, includes a displaceable wire-stop disposed across a said channel near an open end thereof and which may be folded into a recess in said body under forceful insertion of a wire into said channel.

United States Patent [191 Bazille, Jr.

[4 Dec. 31, 1974 SOLDERLESS TAP CONNECTOR [75] Inventor: James H.Bazille, Jr., North Saint Paul, Minn.

[73] Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul,Minn.

22 Filed: Feb. 19, 1974 211 App]. No.: 443,368

Bazille, et a1. 339/98 Seim 339/98 Primary Examiner-Roy Lake AssistantExaminer--E. F. Desmond Attorney, Agent, or Firm Alexander, Sell, Steldt& DeLal-lunt [57] ABSTRACT A solderless connector for insulated wires,comprising a transversely grooved body with parallel longitudinalwire-receiving channels, and a slotted metal plate contact elementinsertable in a transverse groove for making electrical contact betweenwires supported in said channels, includes a displaceable wire-stopdisposed across a said channel near an open end thereof [56] ReferemesCited and which may be folded into a recess in said body UNITED STATESPATENTS under forceful insertion of a wire into said channel 3:583:23?511323 5352a;:3:111iijjiijijiiiiiiiijjiiii:333/32 7 Claims, 10 DrawingFigures 1-. I F2; 1 21 a in: n] a Til-Z 1201 g 2! l L 11 33 TT# T 'n 7HI I ll 36 PATENTEDDEBMISH 3,858,157

SHEET 10F 2 /Z F/q.

PATENTED EH13 1 I974 sum 2 or 2 i3 if I'll/ i SOLDERLESS TAP CONNECTORThis invention relates to wire-connectors for making in-line, tap andpigtail connections between insulated wires.

In-line, tap and pigtail connections are required in many electricalwiring circuits. All are used, for example, in house wiring and inautomotive wiring circuits, where two or more wires may be terminallyinterconnected in a pigtail or in-line splice, or one or more wires maybe connected terminally to a through or run wire in a tap or Tconnection.

A form of connector described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,370 permits thesolderless splicing of insulated wires in either pigtail, tap or in-linemode. The connector comprises an insulating body having longitudinalwire-receiving channels and transversely grooved for insertion of aslotted metal contact plate. Wires may be inserted either from the sideor from an end. The modification illustrated in FIG. 4 of the patentprovides an end stop for the inner channel thus permitting only endwiseinsertion of the inner wire; the second wire may then be inserted in theouter channel either endwise to form a pigtail or in-line splice, orfrom the open side in forming a tap connection. However, making apigtail or in-line connection with such a connector requires careful andprecise manipulation and observation to insure that the wire-end isinserted far enough to make full contact while still retaining the tipof the wire within the insulating body.

The present invention likewise may provide at least one closed-endchannel for receiving a wire-end, and another channel open at both endsfor receiving either a wire-end or a continuous wire section. Theinvention further provides a wire-stop which, unlike the end stop shownin US. Pat. No. 3,388,370, is capable of displacement during insertionof a wire. Thus, the stop assures proper positioning of a wire-end inmaking a pigtail splice while still permitting the preparation ofa tapor in-line splice.

A number of illustrative embodiments of the novel connector of thisinvention are shown in the drawing, wherein FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are sideelevation, top plan, and sectional views respectively of a firstembodiment,

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are similar views of a second embodiment,

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional elevation at a loca tion analogous tothat shown in FIG. 6 but of a modified form of connector and with awire-end in place, and I FIGS. 8-10 are views of a portion of stillanother form of connector otherwise similar to that of FIGS. 4-6,showing the hinged side wall in end elevation in FIG. 8, side plan viewin FIG. 9, and longitudinal section along line A-A in FIG. 10.

The connector 10 of FIGS. 1-3 comprises an insulating body 11 and twodoubly folded contact plates or elements 12, 13. The body has side walls14, 15, end walls 16, 17 and inner walls 18, 19, defining three parallelopen-faced wire-receiving channels 20, 21, 22. Transverse grooves 23,24, 25, 26 in side and inner walls permit insertion of the two doublyfolded contact elements 12, 13, shown partially inserted in FIGS. 1 and2 and in position for insertion in FIG. 3. The elements are slotted toprovide narrow openended slots 27, 28, 29, 30, and other similarlyspaced slots not shown, each in alignment with the axis of theappropriate wire-receiving channel so as to make full spring compressionreserve contact with a wire supported in the channel when the contact isforced thereagainst. Alternatively a single contact element extendingacross all channels and slotted in line with each may be used, althoughrequiring increased force in making the connection. A cover 31 isprovided, to be folded and locked in place over the exposed uppersurfaces of the contact elements after the contacts have been completed.

Channels 21 and 22 are open only at one end, i.e., through circularopenings (not shown) in collar 32 and end wall 16. Channel 20, on theother hand, is open at both ends, i.e., at collars 32 and 36. However, astop 33 extends upwardly from the floor or channel 20 and providespartial blocking of that channel. As a result, wireends inserted throughthe sleeve 32 into the three channels will each be stopped within thebody 11 in position for making electrical contact with the elements 12,13 in a three-wire pigtail splice.

The stop 33 resists deformation under normal wireinsertion forces andserves to locate the wire-end in a position where fully effectivecontact may be made while still retaining the wire-end within theprotective enclosure of the insulating body. However. on the applicationof additional force the stop is folded or dis placed from the uprightposition shown in FIG. 3 into a recess 34 provided for the purpose inthe floor of the channel 20, to an extent sufficient to permit the wireto be passed through the channel and into position for making a tap orin-line splice. In the embodiment illustrated, an optional second recess35 is provided adjacent the other side of the stop 30, so that the stopmay alternatively be folded out of the path of a wire inserted in theopposite direction.

In a specific example of a connector for use with No. l4 to No. l2building wire, the body is made of polypropylene, the circularwire-accepting openings in collars 32 and 36 and end wall 16 have adiameter of0. l inch, the stop 33 is 0.100 inch in width, 0.030 inch inthickness at the free end, and to assure proper mold release, the innerface tapers at an angle of 4 with the outer. The recesses 34 and 35extend 0.016 inch below the base line of the channel 20 and are 0.1 10inch in width. The stop extends O. I 25 inch above the flat floor of therecesses.

The resiliency of the plastic material is such that the stop 33 may betipped into the recess 34 by simply pushing a No. 14 insulated wireaxially into and through the channel under strong hand pressure.Thereafter the stop continues to press against the wire with aresiliency which assists greatly in maintaining the wire in positionwithin the insulating body.

The connector 40 of FIGS. 4-6 similarly comprises a body 41 and a doublyfolded or U-shaped element 42. The body has a side wall 44, end walls46, 47 and an inner wall 48 defining two wire-receiving channels 50, 51.An opposing side wall 45 is foldably connected to the body at hinge 65and to a cover 61 at hinge 66. The contact element 42 fits into grooves53, 54 with its open-ended slots 57, 58, 59 (and another not shown) inalignment with the axis of the appropriate channel 50, 51. The channelsare open-ended at wall 46 and collar 62, and channel 50 is open also atthe opposite end in collar 67.

A stop 63 extends from the inner surface of the end wall 47 into theopen channel 50 and angles downwardly into the path of a wire-endinserted through collar 62, serving the same purpose as the stop 33 ofFIGS. 1-3.

Unlike the vertically disposed stop 33 of FIG. 3, the stop 63 of FIG. 6is not easily displaceable by force applied axially of a wire-endinserted from the collar 62. However, the wire may be inserted sidewisethrough the open side of the body which is then subsequently closed withthe wall 45 when the cover 61 is folded over the body and locked inplace. In this case, the stop 63 folds upwardly into the open space 64above the channel to permit entry of the wire in making a tap or runningsplice.

As a specific example of a connector for Nos. 12 to 14 insulated copperwires made as indicated in FIGS. 4-6, the body is again made ofpolypropylene. With the end wall 45 in closed position, the channels are0.166 inch in width. The stop 63 is 0.080 inch in width and 0.040 inchin thickness. The stop extends from the wall 47 and parallel to the axisof the channel for a distance of 0.065 inch and then downwardly at anangle of 45 to a distance of 0.140 inch from the inner end wall surface.

Double stops may be used. One such construction is shown in FIG. 7 wherethe body 71 of a connector 70 is shown with a wire-end 72 inserted,forcing a first stop 73 upwardly into the recess 74 and being held by asecond stop 75 within the insulating body and in position for contactingthe contact element 76.

FIGS. 8-10 illustrate another modification wherein opposing stops 83, 84extend from the floor of recesses 86, 87 within a hinged side wall 85,said wall and stops replacing the wall 45 and stop 63 of the structureof FIGS. 4-6. The stops extend substantially perpendicularly above theinner surface of the wall and into the wire-receiving channel a distancesufficient to make effective contact with a wire-end inserted within thechannel from either end, and provide the same retarding and retainingaction as do the stops 73, 75 of FIG. 7. The slight inclination of thesestops toward each other together with the rounded tips of the stops,also assists in permitting them to be folded down into the recessesunder the forces involved in inserting a wire sidewise through the openside and into the wirereceiving channel of the connector body.

In the specific connectors illustrated, the contact ele ments are doublyfolded and each provides two doubly slotted contact plates, whereas theconnector of U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,370 contains but a single plate. Thelatter construction may equally well be employed in the practice of thepresent invention, and other modifications an mh iqns wi h asp tent t thskilled in the art on consideration of the foregoing description.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a connector assembly for making solderless inline, pigtail or tapelectrical connection between insulated wires and comprising a basehaving parallel longitudinal wire-supporting channels and being groovedtransversely of said channels, and a resilient slotted metal platecontact element fitting within a said groove and with slots in alignmentwith said wire-supporting channels, the improvement comprising aresiliently displaceable stop member extending from a wall of saidchannel and blocking said channel between an outermost groove and theadjacent end of the channel, and said base being recessed to provide anopen space adjacent said stop member for receiving said stop member uponits displacement under forceful insertion of a wire into said channel.

2. Connector of claim 1 wherein said stop member extends inwardly from awall of said channel and generally perpendicular to the axis thereof.

3. Connector of claim 2 wherein said wire-supporting channels areopen-faced and said stop member extends from the bottom of a saidchannel.

4. Connector of claim 2 wherein at least one of said wire-supportingchannels is in part defined by a hinged side wall and said stop memberextends from said side wall.

5. Connector of claim I wherein are included two of said stop members,one near each end of said channel.

6. Connector of claim 1 wherein said stop member extends from an endwall of said body into, and at an acute angle with the axis of, saidchannel.

7. Connector of claim 6 wherein are included two of said stop members,one near each end of said channel.

1. In a connector assembly for making solderless in-line, pigtail or tapelectrical connection between insulated wires and comprising a basehaving parallel longitudinal wire-supporting channels and being groovedtransversely of said channels, and a resilient slotted metal platecontact element fitting within a said groove and with slots in alignmentwith said wire-supporting channels, the improvement comprising aresiliently displaceable stop member extending from a wall of saidchannel and blocking said channel between an outermost groove and theadjacent end of the channel, and said base being recessed to provide anopen space adjacent said stop member for receiving said stop member uponits displacement under forceful insertion of a wire into said channel.2. Connector of claim 1 wherein said stop member extends inwardly from awall of said channel and generally perpendicular to the axis thereof. 3.Connector of claim 2 wherein said wire-supporting channels areopen-faced and said stop member extends from the bottom of a saidchannel.
 4. Connector of claim 2 wherein at least one of saidwire-supporting channels is in part defined by a hinged side wall andsaid stop member extends from said side wall.
 5. Connector of claim 1wheRein are included two of said stop members, one near each end of saidchannel.
 6. Connector of claim 1 wherein said stop member extends froman end wall of said body into, and at an acute angle with the axis of,said channel.
 7. Connector of claim 6 wherein are included two of saidstop members, one near each end of said channel.